CEO of Maserati Dismisses Electric Cars

Harald Wester, CEO of Maserati, has spoken out against electric cars at the Shanghai Motor Show. He also criticized how regulatory bodies measure emissions and say they need to be "more realistic" in their approach.

"All this discussion about zero emissions is nonsense. Nobody talks about the efficiency of how the battery is charged. It varies strongly from region to region, depending on how the energy is produced, nuclear, coal and so on, but even the best is not ahead of the internal combustion engine."

If we want a realistic solution to emissions then the regulators need to be more honest in how they calculate emissions. Electric cars are not the answer.

He added that based on the efficiency of power stations in various countries, an electric car in Europe produces roughly 86g of CO2 per kilometer, 110g in the United States and 191g in China. Therefore, to say that they are zero emissions is completely wrong.

He also added that If emissions is the target, then diesel and CNG are the obvious answers, because they are more viable technologies. For one, there's already an extensive network of diesel pump stations in many countries; unlike charging stations for electric cars. Furthermore, filling a car with diesel takes mere minutes, but to fully charge an electric car takes hours.